Meeting reports

Translation UK 2024 successfully brought together over 130 scientists examining protein synthesis and its regulation at the University of Surrey to share recent developments and breakthroughs through a series of talks, poster presentations and networking events. Scientists from the UK and abroad presented recently published and unpublished work of the highest quality. Organized by a joint scientific committee of Professor André Gerber and Dr Hannah Burgess of the University of Surrey and Dr Trevor Sweeney and Professor Nicolas Locker from the nearby BBSRC supported Pirbright Institute, dedicated sessions included translation initiation, coercion of translation by viruses and the deregulation of translation in disease. National and international keynote speakers from academia and industry provided exceptionally engaging talks. These ranged from novel model systems to understand ribosome heterogeneity (Dr Julie Aspden, University of Leeds) to detailed mechanistic understanding of SARS-CoV-2 translation and the importance of translation in the efficacy of emerging mRNA therapeutics (Professor Noam Stern-Ginossar, Weizmann Institute; Dr Eckhard Jankowsky, Moderna), stimulating broad and insightful discussions. With a strong focus on providing opportunity for early career researchers to contribute, students and postdoctoral researchers were also selected to chair sessions and invited to attend a careers session. Translation UK 2024 showcased the strength, diversity and potential of the UK’s mRNA translation research and provided a crucible for new and exciting collaborations—we look forward to Translation UK 2025 in Edinburgh!■